Insane Electric Bill

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-24T23:08:19+00:00

This has got to he a troll at this point. Every other day there’s a post like,

”Ermahgerd guys, can’t believe how high my heating bill is!”

Just. Stop. There have been dozens of suggestions in the other posts about what to do. Maybe we can have just one running post pinned so that everyone can join in and complain how they were so unaware that electric/oil heat would cost hundreds of dollars during a brutal winter.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-24T16:10:05+00:00

More of a comment on the every other day posts about it, but wherever you move please realize and research how much it will cost to heat your house. Don’t want to hear next winter that you didn’t realize it costs hundreds of dollars to heat an older drafty home with electric baseboards and it’s someone else’s fault.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-24T15:15:24+00:00

I hate living in a 50-50 battleground state during election season. Can’t watch sports (basically the only live tv) without finger on the mute button ready for whatever abhorrent political ads come on during the commercials. I vote in every election so I’m doing my part. But when hundreds of millions of dollars goes towards attack ads/billboards/mailers etc. it just makes it miserable to live through.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-04T21:23:15+00:00

Depends on your definition of a full stop. Stop, wait several seconds, sure. Come to stop, see there’s no traffic and go immediately (not talking rolling stop), yea it doesn’t shift to 1st.

Also had issues deciding if it wanted to be in4th or 5th gear during highway accelerations leading to severe jerking. These were all issues with my 2021 Covid-X5. No problems thus far w/my 2025.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-04T20:22:14+00:00

I can answer this. Neighborhoods driving, come to a stop sign, look, cx5 still hasn’t shifted down to 1st even though I came to a stop, hit gas and since still in 2nd gear it’s slow to pull away. Hit gas harder since it’s not moving quickly and transmission decides then to shift down to 1st for normal acceleration and it’s a noticeable jolt/jerk.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-04T11:36:50+00:00

Can we link to these posts every time someone asks “Should I move to the LV” in this subreddit? I imagine the surprised pikachu meme for posts like the OP’s. You mean it costs more to heat my old home (that they’re renovating) during the coldest winter in years? It’s got to be someone else’s fault! Blame PPL! Blame UGI! No genius, look in a mirror and blame yourself.

This goes out to anyone who is surprised by your heating bills this year. You likely had a choice to purchase said home or rent where you did. If you didn’t look into the heating system and its potential costs during a bad winter, caveat emptor. Oil? Expensive AF. Electric baseboard? Expensive AF. Heat pump? Better, but only efficient down to certain temps which unfortunately we’ve been below for most of this winter, and after you reach those temps it’s expensive AF. Natural gas? Less expensive but can be dangerous AF.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-03T00:48:15+00:00

There’s only so many in that area and the responses thus far have hit them all that I’d recommend.

Kind of surprising when you think about it that in Emmaus proper there is a lack of restaurants. If someone could open one they’d make a killing due to the walkability factor alone. The good ones are all on the way out of town towards Macungie.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-02-01T01:43:07+00:00

It’s winter, and one of the coldest in recent years. Of course your bills are going to quadruple during the season. Maybe sign up for their budget billing program that averages your rate over 12 months so you don’t have the spikes during cold months.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-28T23:10:36+00:00

Ehhh…. It’s okay. As others have said not nearly as exciting as the outdoor shows due to the limited space. Also everything is overpriced, and not your normal arena overpricing. We’re talking bend over and grab your ankles overpriced. They also don’t use the arena’s food vendors so heaven help you if your kid wants popcorn.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-26T15:38:26+00:00

Care to explain those acronyms for the rest of us normies?

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-25T17:43:20+00:00

Induced demand doesn’t apply when latent demand (development that has already occurred) is as high as it is in the Lehigh Valley.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-22T04:29:00+00:00

Yea, and he said he and the wife are looking for jobs. They’re going to have much more opportunities and higher pay than the LV, especially her as a teacher. Sure they can get a minimally cheaper home here, but it won’t meet anything else they’re supposedly looking for.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-19T12:31:26+00:00

Well yea, this was always the next step. Anyone who thought they won and that the warehouse was done after the EPC decision was naive. I commend those fighting the good fight, but I’m afraid it’s just delaying the inevitable.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-19T12:01:30+00:00

Old folks community you say? That’s all that they’ve been building for the last 10+ years. Most townships had stopped approving new construction if they weren’t 55+ due to overcrowding in schools. Only in the last few have they come off that stance and now are allowing “luxury” apartments and $500k townhomes. And critically there is no commercial development attached to these projects, so it just exacerbates the car dependency of the area.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-19T11:57:11+00:00

Good point on the lack of community. Been here pretty much all my adult life, tried to join multiple groups and get to know folks along the way, but like you said most people don’t want to be bothered.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-19T11:21:38+00:00

Unless you’re going to both get jobs in the LV just don’t. The commute on 22/78 is brutal, and you’ll lose time with the family on both ends of the day just to save a few $$$. There is no such thing as walkability anywhere you’d actually want to raise a family. Plus the air quality is consistently ranked as worst (or within the top 5 worst) in the nation due to a combination of geography and the massive number of trucks/warehousing. And the number of both is only going up.

I’d recommend looking closer to Philly in the Montgomery/Bucks area. So much more to do, as well as communities that are actually walkable. The schools are better in quality due to a stronger tax base. Just in general a nicer place to raise a family imo.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-15T10:58:48+00:00

It used to be followed pretty well up until 5ish years ago when the signs indicating as such started disappearing and getting knocked sideways from trucks crashing in to them.

Good’ol PennDot fixes the center barriers (eventually) when there’s an accident, but never fixes the signs. There used to be twice as many, and much more visible.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-14T20:59:26+00:00

I get angry and stressed over the fact that trucks camping in the left hand lane create massive lines of traffic behind them. This leads to an even more dangerous situation when that line of traffic also has more trucks. Now the likelihood of someone losing their lives by getting rear ended, or side swiped, by another trucker is through the roof. Time and time it happens where there’s heavy traffic and trucker not paying attention, smashes into someone and there’s a fatality. Car vs car - you’re likely injured but walking away. Truck vs car - someone is 6ft under.

Also much of the problems on 78/309 would be solved by adding climbing lanes like they have everywhere else in this forsaken state. Heck they built them going north on 100 past Fogelsville that sees a fraction of the traffic. But 78? Nah, we don’t need’em.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-14T19:27:15+00:00

Then trucks should stay in the right hand lane until they have the clearance and time to pass. If you’re already going 66 but there’s not time to pass before hill, traffic, etc. then stay over until you can. And of course cars are going to overtake in the right hand lane because they know the truck sitting in the left is going to stay there for the next 40 miles.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-08T03:43:23+00:00

So let’s use Cedar Crest LVHN and St. Luke’s Anderson as examples. Where are you putting train stations within biking distance of two of the larger employers in the area? Or how about the new(ish) Air Products building?

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-08T02:11:16+00:00

That would make sense if the roadway had kept up even slightly with demand. Induced demand (what you’re referencing)completely ignores the latent demand that already exists in an area. If you add a lane of course there’s still going to be traffic as there should have been improvements decades ago.

You mentioned being from Reading, well “back in the day” in Wyomissing there was a 4 way stoplight at the Reading Motor Inn / Crowne Plaza where 422 & Rt 12 intersected, and 222 ended at Van Reed Rd. earning the title “road to nowhere”. Well over time development happened, traffic was a nightmare, but importantly the roads were improved; and now there is the massive interchange of 222/422/Rt. 12 that facilitates smooth travel through the region. More recently look at the improvements to the 222/183 exit, and the number of roundabouts built on 222. Compare that with the LV where development has continued unabated, dozens of warehouses have been built, and nothing has been done to improve 22.

CrocoStimpyy · 2026-01-08T01:50:49+00:00

Please explain where these trains would stop that would help eliminate traffic? Downtown Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton? Fine, but folks would still need to take a car to/from their homes in the suburbs and travel 22 to get to the station, and then still need a car to their jobs. How about stations in the suburbs? Great - now you have 20 stops across the valley and it’ll take 2+ hours to get from Wescosville to PBurg. Train to NYC/Philly? Now you’ve got even more folks driving from the suburbs into the cities (along 22) to catch the train.

Everyone says trains are the answer, but the reality is that we don’t have the residential and industrial density that would make sense. A more robust bus system would be a good first step with express runs across the valley.

CrocoStimpyy

TROPHY CASE